The Jungle Book of Jane Porter: Part 4
by TwilightSparkle3562
Summary: Following the events of Part 3, Tarzan and Jane's life is once again turned upside down while Jane wonders if she could ever defend herself without Tarzan. She ultimately gets a chance to prove it when her friends return to the jungle for another picnic and are being stalked by Queen La, now in the form of a leopard and now the leader of a group of leopards and panthers.
1. A New Body, Same Mind

Disclaimer 1: I do not own "Tarzan," or its characters. They are property of Edgar Rice Burroughs and the Walt Disney Company.

Disclaimer 2: I do not own "The Lion King," or its characters. They are property of the Walt Disney Company.

Disclaimer 3: I do not own the original idea to this story. That belongs to Azyiks and his story, "Tarzan and Jane: Transition Plan."

"The Jungle Book of Jane Porter: Part 4"

By TwilightSparkle3562

Chapter 1

"A New Body, Same Mind"

As her captors celebrated the wedding of a future Wazari Chief, the former queen of Opar was trapped inside the body of a rat and trying to figure out a way to escape the prison that held her. For all that Queen La knew, she was defeated but this would only be a temporary adjustment. She had to escape and regroup, what she would need was a new stronger body to finish what she had started a long time ago.

"I must escape and claim a new host," La thought to herself as she pushed with all her strength and managed to knock the urn that held her. The urn had made a loud noise, but because all the Wazari's were celebrating, La was able to escape without any detection. "You haven't seen the last of me. For when I have enough time, you will all bow before Queen La!"

Creeping off into the night, La hid behind a bush when she heard the sounds of voices out in the distance. She saw her primary target and her husband walking away from the village with the target's father and animal friends with her. This made La very cross for all she was concerned; the target was a threat to her. All La ever wanted was to kill the female and make the male her own. After everything that happened to her, La wanted a king to rule beside her in Opar.

"Enjoy your victory while you can, Jane," snarled La. "Once I have regrouped and found a new body, I will finish what I had started and your precious Tarzan will be mine."

As they disappeared from her view, La began to scamper throughout the jungles and look for anything, anyone whose body was strong enough for her to possess. She didn't want a weak body, but a strong one. A body strong enough and capable of causing fears to Tarzan and the others. Just then, La heard a low but menacing growling sound coming straight towards her. Normally, other creatures would run for their lives at a sound like that, but for La, this was a golden opportunity to finally gain an advantage in her quest to make Tarzan her own.

"The time has finally come," she thought as La saw the creature running in a shroud of pure darkness. Its eyes glowing pure gold as opened its jaws and began to chew on the rat body that La possessed. Once the rat body was weak enough, La escaped from the rat and slowly crept into the mind of the creature that attacked her.

Once she had full control, the creature stopped and threw the dead rat out into the bushes. A flash of red eyes soon followed and La walked over to a stream to find out what creature she had now become. Looking down at the water, she could see that she had become a creature that she had control over for a very long time. The moonlight had revealed that Queen La had now become a leopard and not just any leopard, but a reincarnation of Sabor, the leopard who had killed Tarzan's parents as well as Kerchak and Kala's baby gorilla. This made the Queen of Opar chuckle to herself and now, she had an advantage that she had always wanted to have.

"Yes, yes, this is the body that I need," she laughed to herself. "With the body of a leopard, I can easily finish off that Jane and make Tarzan my own! But, there is something else that I need and that is minions, warriors to do my bidding."

La knew that finding minions would not be easy and she certainly didn't want the three hyenas who had previous been her lackeys for all she was concerned; they were useless in her eyes. She also began to think of the French Foreign Legion officers that she impressed into joining her services after their leader, Colonel Staquait was killed on Cape Doom. Most of them were already dead or near dead from Tarzan and Basuli's attack on Opar.

La wanted to only have the best of the best of the jungle's most feared predators and throughout the night, she searched and searched until finally, she came across a den of leopards with the fierce jungle cats sound asleep with their young at their mother's stomachs.

"They will do nicely," whispered La, a sinister grin coming across her face as she stepped forward towards the den. If she was going to be a leader of this pack of leopards, she needed to kill the leader. La may not have been a leopard for very long, but her instincts inside her told her to head to the center cave where the leader was believed to be hiding.

Creeping in quietly, La stepped into the cave and found what appeared to be a really old leopard that was fast asleep. La then growled to herself and got herself ready to attack the sleeping leopard. What then followed was growls and roars that woke up the entire den. Many of the leopards who had previously been asleep were awakened by the sounds of growling and panicked roars from the elder leopard.

Moments later after everyone had gathered, the newly powerful Queen La emerged with the dead body of the den's leader, tossing it out of the cave and onto the ground where all the leopards were assembled.

"I am your new leader now," barked La to the small crowd of leopards who looked up in horror and disgust. "I am La and you will all bow down to me! Refuse to bow down and you will suffer the consequences of your previous leader."

The leopards wanted to revolt, but those words of power and threatened death sent fears throughout the leopards made them realize that La was not going to tolerate anyone trying to overthrow her.

For the time being, La was their leader and soon, the game was about to be taken to a whole new level…


	2. A Talk Among Wives

Chapter 2

"A Talk Among Wives"

Following the wedding in the Wazari village, Jane returned home and was now lying in bed with her husband, Tarzan. But, she couldn't sleep for as far she was concerned; Jane was thinking about the recent events that she had been unwillingly involved in. Jane was not only thinking about being kidnapped by La and possessed by her, she was thinking of the events before that with Colonel Staquait where she was humiliated, imprisoned and nearly violated by the French Foreign Legion. All that Jane ever wanted to be able to defend herself, given the fact that she had been living in the jungles for a short period of time.

Rising from bed, Jane walked to the closet and pulled her quiver of bow and arrows out from it. She would only use it for target practice or if she was going hunting or exploring out in the jungles. Tonight, she was going to do target practice which would help her get her mind off of what was happening to her. After creeping out of the treehouse quietly, Jane came to the base of the treehouse and came across a spot on the base that was almost like a bull's eye. She was just about to start shooting her arrows when she heard a rustling sound coming from the bushes.

"Who's there?" she called to the disturbance, raising her bow and arrow at the bushes. "Come out, I say! I am armed and I am not afraid to use my weapons!"

But, the disturbance was soon revealed to be Simba's mate, Nala, who smiled at Jane as she emerged from the bushes. This made Jane calm down, knowing that she wasn't in any danger, at least for the time being.

"It's only me, Jane," said Nala as Jane lowered her weapons. "You have no reason to be afraid."

This had to make Jane chuckle to herself and she put her bow and arrows down against the base of the tree as Nala sat down next to her.

"I'm sorry about that, Nala," said Jane sheepishly as she swung her long hair out of her face. "It's just that I couldn't sleep after everything that has happened to me. You know how it is."

"In what way is that?" asked the Queen of the Pride Lands. "Would you care to tell me what it is?"

Jane took in a deep sigh and dusted her loincloths as she began to tell Nala why she was acting the way she was. Ever since she left England, all Jane had for support was Tarzan and her father, Archimedes. Now, it seemed that talking to Nala was an opportunity for her to express her feelings to someone other than those two.

"Well," began Jane. "It all started back a few months when I was out taking my friends from England out for a picnic in the jungle. We were all having a good time when all of a sudden, a group of men captured us and brought us to an island called Cape Doom. My friends were separated from me and I was brought before the leader who then humiliated me by making me strip to these jungle garments. Tarzan eventually rescued me and ever since that day, I have always wanted to prove to him that I can defend myself."

Jane put down the arrow she was brandishing and shivered slightly as a cold breeze came through her body. After a moment, Jane continued her story to Nala as she listened eagerly to what Jane had to say.

"All I need is to prove to Tarzan that I can do it," continued Jane, as she stroked her hair. "I cannot allow myself to be subjected to La's or anyone else's tortures anymore. There has to be a way."

Nala could understand how Jane could not sleep for as far she was concerned, Simba had told her everything that had happened at Opar and how Scar's three former hyenas, Shenzi, Banzai and Ed had helped her do what she did.

"I'm not surprised," said Nala, who couldn't help but feel sorry for Jane. "Simba can't sleep either because of he is thinking about the safety of myself and the Pride Lands after everything that has happened. He feels that the threat is still out there and that it is far from over."

"Of course the threat is far from over," said Jane once again taking an arrow from her quiver and brandishing it like a stick. "It seems like there is a price on my head placed there by La and that she won't rest until I am dead. I'm afraid that the next time that La comes after me, she will kill me. I have to find a way to defend myself and at the same time, prove to Tarzan that I can survive in the jungle without him being there for me."

Nala could see exactly what Jane was talking about given the circumstances of recent. After all, Nala could sympathize with Jane as she had her own issues with Simba when they were first mated. It seemed to her that the only way to get Jane to think of something other than what she was currently thinking was to give her friendly advice.

"There is a way you can prove to him of defending yourself," explained Nala, sitting next to Jane. "You need to experience a situation where Tarzan is unable to be there for you. What needs to happen is where you take everything that you have learned while living with him and use that knowledge to your advantage. If you do that, then Tarzan will see that you are capable of doing just that."

"Could Queen La be that situation that you are talking about?" asked Jane.

"Of course," continued Nala. "You are more than what you say you are, Jane. I know that you are willing to adapt to life in the jungle and Simba and I are very proud to call you our friend."

Jane had to feel better at this, for all she was concerned, Nala had given her probably the best advice she had gotten aside from Tarzan. As the sun came up, Nala hugged Jane and the Queen of the Pride Lands immediately left to return to Simba.

Of course, Jane would have to wait until the moment arrives, but it would soon come eventually…


	3. Bugs for Breakfast

Chapter 3

"Bugs for Breakfast"

Following her heart to heart conversation with Nala, Jane awoke the next morning with the words of wisdom still fresh in her mind. If what Nala said was indeed true, then Jane was indeed going to face a daunting test to prove to Tarzan and her jungle peers that she was capable of defending herself. Dressing in her usual yellow shirt and green wrap around skirt, Jane came out to the kitchen where her father was drinking a cup of Earl Grey and she was surprised to see Timon and Pumbaa in the kitchen cooking what appeared to be bugs.

"Ah, good morning, Janey," said Archimedes as he took another sip of his favorite coffee. "Our good friends here seem to be excellent cooks, if I do say so myself."

Jane didn't say anything but merely just sat next to her father at the table. She was after all still waking up after being up for a good part of the night talking to Nala.

"I hope you are up for some bugs, Jane," said Timon, who presented Jane a plate of bugs that he had cooked himself. "They are freshly picked."

Jane knew that she could not eat bugs and it was a major departure from her typical English breakfasts that she would always have back in England. Of course, considering how much effort that Timon and Pumbaa had put into the unwanted dish, she knew that she had to at least try one. She took a bite and after a few crunches, she swallowed it bitterly as Timon could see that she didn't like it.

"I must say Timon," said Jane, smiling and trying to not insult her biggest admirer. "They are tasty, but not to insult you, I am not what you call a bug eater."

Timon produced a look of defeat for a second and then turned back towards Pumbaa, who merely responded with a shrug of his huge warthog shoulders. He then jumped into a chair and sat with Jane and Archimedes as he ate the bugs that Jane couldn't eat.

"That's all right," sighed Timon as he sat next to her. "I'm not insulted, I just wanted to do something nice for you that's all. Hey, I would always do nice things for my ma and Uncle Max when I got the chance."

"You never did cook anything for your Ma and Uncle Max," remarked Pumbaa, as Timon turned over and glared at him.

"Who asked you?" he flounced and Pumbaa returned to his routines of eating bugs. Timon and Archimedes then took notice of Jane's tired body language and wondered why she was acting this way.

"Hey Jane, you seem like you had a bad night's sleep. Did the wedding keep you awake?"

Jane then dozed off for a moment and then suddenly woke up much to the concern of her father and Meerkat friend. Normally, back in England, Jane would always sleep well following a major function like a wedding, but this was completely different.

"No, I just woke up in the middle of the night and went shooting with my bow and arrows," sighed Jane, trying to stay awaked. "But, then I met Nala and we had a conversation about something."

"Would you care to tell me what it is?" wondered Archimedes, who wondered why his only daughter would be up in the middle of the night. "If you want to keep it secret, then we will by all means pretend like this conversation never happened."

Jane sighed heavily for a moment as she got up and poured some of her favorite tea into a cup, before returning to the table to rejoin her father and animal friends.

"I've been doing some thinking," she said to her table. "After being possessed by La, I was wondering if I would ever be able to defend myself against those who would attack us. I have bows and arrows and the ability to learn whatever comes into surviving in the jungle, but nothing seems to come to pass in regards to the events of recent. Nala said that my time would soon come with La, but wasn't she captured by the Wazaris?"

"She was," replied Archimedes, who was beginning to shudder when he was thinking back to that moment when his daughter was humiliated by La and her cohorts. "I hope she never escapes from her prison ever again after what had happened."

"Knowing La, Daddy, she might find a way to escape," remarked Jane, who was not really keen on what was just said to her.

As far as she was concerned, La was not going to rest until she was out of the picture. In her mind, it was only a matter of time before La would escape and go after Jane. It had happened several times before and it was going to happen again.

"I'm saying like it is," continued Jane, who then rose up from the table. "She is like a wandering spirit, Daddy, someone who will not rest until I am dead. Perhaps, I could go away for a while, maybe go back to England or something."

"Why would you say that, Jane?" asked Timon worriedly, jumping off the table and grabbing Jane's leg with his whole body. "We love you and we would miss your undeniable presence in this jungle."

This had to make Jane giggle for all she knew that Timon was an admirer of her and she could not build herself to leave the jungle.

"All right," she chuckled as she yawned. "You've managed to convince me to stay. But, we need to be on the alert for any sign of La. Who knows what she would might do?"

But just then, Archimedes knew that there would be a good piece of news to help Jane take her mind off of her situation. He had been to the trading post earlier that morning and had some wonderful news for Jane.

"Actually Janey," said Archimedes, rising from the table. "I have some news for you. It appears your friends are coming back for hopefully a picnic. That should be enough to keep off of things for a while."

"That's wonderful, daddy," said Jane, smiling to this news. "Hopefully we won't have any interruptions like last time. Hopefully, Tarzan can join us and speaking of which, where is he?"

"He said that there was an emergency he had to take care of," said Pumbaa, emerging from behind the kitchen. "It was something about a leopard attack or something like that. His friend from that village is with him."

Jane wondered what it was, but she assumed it was nothing. As far as she was concerned, Jane was now excited on planning a long overdue English style picnic, the same ones she used to host back in England.

Although she wasn't concerned at the time, Jane didn't realize that La had already escaped and that Tarzan and Basuli were already experiencing it firsthand. 


	4. A Killing in the Wazari Village

Chapter 4

"A Killing in the Wazari Village"

While Jane and Archimedes remained at the treehouse with Timon and Pumbaa, Tarzan was called to the Wazari village to investigate a brutal killing of a Wazari warrior that happened the previous evening, just after the wedding. The body was found in a river not too far from the village and it was face down in the water.

"How could this happen after your wedding, Basuli?" Tarzan wondered, feeling sympathetic for his friend. "I'm very sorry."

Basuli sighed as he watched several other warriors pick up the body. Even during his own wedding, he could not catch a break. After all, the body that his fellow warriors were picking up was that of one of the warriors who accompanied him to Opar to help Tarzan rescue Jane.

"I know," sighed Basuli. "He was a very brave individual and this killing was not like anything we have seen. This is a predator who is supposedly targeting us deliberately."

"What do you mean, Basuli?" asked Tarzan as they made their way back to the village. "Who would want to do this? Is it a leopard or some sort?"

But, Tarzan's questions would soon be answered when they returned to the village. Basuli walked into the hut where his new bride was and produced the urn that held La following the events at Opar. Now, instead of a rat that had the mind of a diabolical queen, there was nothing but emptiness inside.

"Does this answer your questions, Tarzan?" said Basuli, showing Tarzan the empty urn. "Queen La has escaped and is somewhere out in the jungle waiting to attack us."

A cold feeling began to fall down Tarzan's spine upon hearing the news that La had escaped. It turns out that as long as La was out in the jungle, possessing whatever body she could find, Tarzan's family and friends would not be safe.

"Then we must find her, Basuli," said Tarzan, looking at his distressed friend. "Who knows what she will do to get rid of Jane."

"Then we must begin at once," replied Basuli as his father, Keewazi, emerged from Basuli's hut with a spear in his hand. "We stopped La once and we need to stop her again. Are you with me, Tarzan?"

"I am," he replied.

Keewazi then handed Basuli his spear and looked over at his son with a look of authority in his eyes. Much like the challenge he put Basuli in for his wedding, Keewazi wanted his son to retrieve La and return her to the village. However, unlike the previous quest, this one was not going to be easy. La was in another body and with whatever body she possessed, she would use that body to her advantage.

"My son," said Keewazi, placing a hand on his son's shoulder. "You must stop Queen La at all costs now that she has escaped again. As long as her spirit is free, she is a threat to this village and to us. You must do whatever it takes to protect our village. You will one day succeed me as chief and you must learn to protect those that are closest to you. Do you understand what I have said to you?"

"I do, father," replied Basuli. "And I think I know someone that we can question on La's whereabouts."

"Who are you talking about, Basuli?" wondered Keewazi.

But, he didn't get very far with the questions with what Basuli said next. As far as he was concerned, Basuli had one individual in mind that he wanted to question although he knew that he was possibly dead.

"I want to find Muviro and question him," said Basuli, as a look of confusion came onto Tarzan's face. The last time that either of them saw Muviro, he had supposedly fallen to his death into the rivers below Opar. Who knew that he would still be alive, especially after a fall like that?

"He may not be alive, Basuli," advised Tarzan, who knew that was not really the best option. But, he had to trust Basuli because the possibility of Muviro being alive was still slim. If there was anyone who would be forced to reveal La's whereabouts, it was him.

"We have to try Tarzan," replied Basuli as they began to walk out of the village. "If Muviro is alive, then perhaps he could tell us exactly where La is. But, that is, if we could get him to talk."

Soon, they walked to the edge of the village as several other warriors with weapons joined them. They were the same warriors who accompanied Basuli to Opar and now, they were going to accompany him again to find the ex-Wazari who knew where La could possibly be.

"You must try to find him," said Keewazi, as he and the other warriors joined him and Tarzan. "He is the only one who could possibly tell where La's whereabouts are and as long as La and Muviro are still alive, then the threat remains significant to our village. If you are to continue to prove to yourself, Basuli, that you will one day lead this tribe, you must learn how to protect this tribe and this is an opportunity for you to do just that."

To this end, Basuli knelt before his father and after a moment, he rose to his feet as the group of warriors left to begin their hunt for Muviro.

Meanwhile, La was getting used to her new role as leader of the leopard den. Having just overthrown the previous leader, she was going to use this role to get what she would want and that was Jane, who she would kill and make Tarzan her own. But, she had to get her out in the open by any means necessary.

She wanted one of the leopards to help her, but when it became clear that it wasn't going to be possible, La knew that if you wanted to do something right, then you have to do it yourself and to this end, she eyeballed a young leopard cub that belonged to one of the leopards.

"He will do nicely," she thought as she set her eyes on the cub.

Little did she realize of the enemy that she would soon be making in addition to Tarzan and Jane.


	5. Finding Muviro

Chapter 5

"Finding Muviro"

Joining forces once again, Tarzan, Basuli and their group of Wazari Warriors ventured out into the jungle to find Muviro, the only one who would know where La was. But, they would only find him if he was still alive. It was not going to be easy, considering the fact that he had supposedly fallen to his death in the Battle at Opar. Their journey of answers didn't go very far when they got to the river.

"He is somewhere," remarked Basuli, when they saw what appeared to be a freshly made set of footprints in the ground. "These tracks are fresh and they come from the river."

"They must lead to somewhere near here," added Tarzan, remembering that he saw similar footprints during the quest for the Eagle's feather. "Keep your eyes out for any sign of trouble. He couldn't have gone far."

So, the warriors brandished their weapons tightly and carefully walked through the jungles, being on the lookout for any signs of trouble from either ex-Wazari or jungle predator. Suddenly, Tarzan and Basuli heard the sounds of growling coming from one of the bushes near the river. Trusting their instincts, they raised their weapons high and pointed them towards the source of the growling.

"Do you think its La after all?" asked Basuli, carefully brandishing his spear.

"I don't know," replied Tarzan, getting into battle mode. "We'll find out soon enough. La, if you're in there, come on out!"

Suddenly, the growling stopped and a friendly male voice came out from behind the bushes. This made Tarzan and Basuli calm down when the source of the voice was heard.

"I don't mean any harm Tarzan," called the voice, which came out to reveal Simba, king of the Pride Lands. This made Tarzan and Basuli lower their weapons and Tarzan ran over to hug his lion friend, while Basuli just stayed standing there in shock.

"Sorry about that, Simba," said Tarzan. "We thought you were Queen La. She has escaped once again."

But, Tarzan and Basuli both could see that Simba had already picked up a sense of the situation. For they could see that he was hunting for something just as much as they were, if not similar.

"It's just as well," sighed Simba, stretching out his claws. "There was a killing in the Pride Lands just before sunrise."

"What happened?" gasped Tarzan, now fearing that this could have been a connection of sorts. "Is it La?"

"We don't know," replied Simba. "All that I know was that a group of wildebeest was found dead in the grasslands and what appeared to be a group of leopards was spotted in the grasslands. We could tell based on their behavior and one of them spoke like you."

This made Tarzan and Basuli looked grimly at each other, knowing that La was indeed alive and possessing the body of a leopard. A leopard was the last thing for Tarzan to worry about and with her new body, La was now going to stop at nothing to get rid of Jane.

"Tarzan, what can we do?" wondered Basuli, now realizing the gravity of the situation. "La is a leopard now and unless we find Muviro, our lives are in danger."

Tarzan stood there thinking for a moment and after a moment; he finally decided that the best way to find Muviro and stop La quicker was to join forces once again. He knew that Jane was in danger as long as La was free.

"We must work together if we are to stop La," said Tarzan. "If what happened in the Pride Lands was any sign of what's to come, then we have to prevent it. Are we agreed to join forces?"

"We are," replied Simba, knowing the gravity of the situation. "I will do whatever takes to protect the Pride Lands from this threat."

"I will join with you as well," added Basuli. "Father always has groomed me to one day lead our tribe and this is a chance to prove that to him."

So, now aligned together, they joined the other Wazari warriors in finding Muviro. All through the day and night, they scoured the jungles for any sign of him. Finally, as the sun began to set over the jungles, they all came across a figure lying unconscious near a tree. Tarzan and Basuli looked down to see the figure lying face down and had on a green loincloth. It was very obvious that it was definitely Muviro, based on his looks and body. Soon, all the other warriors came forward and with their weapons drawn, carefully approached the faced down figure.

"Careful," cautioned Basuli, trying to keep them away. "He may be alive and that is what I want him to be."

He then carefully touched the body and rolled it over on his back when all of a sudden, the eyes of the figure opened and Muviro with whatever strength he had, tried to get up, only to be stopped by the warriors who held him down. Although he was weak physically, Muviro was strong mentally and it showed when Basuli stepped forward and grabbed him by his bone necklace.

"So, we meet again," chuckled Muviro weakly. "I am alive again!"

"It's very obvious," snapped Basuli, hitting Muviro's face with the back of his hand. "We want La and you are going to help us find her. So, where is she?"

But, Muviro was not going to cooperate that easily and so refused to say anything. This was not going to go well with Basuli, so he decided that they needed a different setting.

"If you are not going to talk here," he snapped. "Then we will deal with this in front of my father. Come."

So, he and the other warriors dragged Muviro back to the Wazari as Tarzan and Simba watched nervously. With each passing hour and minute, La was becoming more and more of a legitimate and dangerous threat to them all.

If Muviro wouldn't be of any help, then what would be next? They would all find out soon enough.


	6. Visit with Dumont

Chapter 6

"Visit with Dumont"

Having been up the rest of the night before talking to Nala about her situation, Jane awoke from her sleep and headed down to the Trading Post to visit Dumont and have a chance to pick up a few items before her friends were to arrive. She had decided to put her hair into a bun and keeping her yellow shirt on, slid on a proper long green skirt, her purple stockings and boots because she felt like dressing up a little bit, which made her feel better. Dumont had just finished completing a work order for supplies when Jane stepped inside his trading post. He was always very smitten with her and today was no exception.

"Well, Jane, how is my beautiful English rose today?" he asked as Jane sat down in a chair. "You seem to be exhausted or something."

"A little bit," she replied, taking in another yawn. "I was up for part of the night, nothing more and nothing less."

Dumont could see that there was something great on Jane's mind and that he had to get to the truth of it. Jane was never in this state and Dumont could see that Jane was trying to hide something from him.

"I could see that there is something troubling you," guessed Dumont, stepping from behind the counter. "Perhaps we could talk over a cup of tea or something. I got a new shipment of it in this morning."

Jane had already had her cup of tea, but didn't mind having a second cup. A little while later, Dumont's son, Antoine, brought two cups of tea in and Dumont also brought in a plate of crumpets which was also brought in.

"Now then," he said, taking in a sip of tea. "What seems to be the trouble, Jane? Didn't you enjoy the wedding that those natives had yesterday?"

"Yes, the wedding was splendid," gasped Jane, who was falling asleep again. "Except that Queen La kidnapped me and the bride and tried to do away with Tarzan, if that is what you are asking."

Dumont began to think back to the time that he was turned into a monkey when a strange force had brainwashed Jane into thinking she was this Queen La character. Now, it appeared in his mind, that the same force had returned and Dumont began to get a little uncomfortable.

"This isn't the same force that turned me into a monkey is it?" asked Dumont, taking a bite out of a crumpet.

"It is, Monsieur Dumont," replied Jane. "And I was possessed by La to the point where she nearly took control of my body. Had it not been for Tarzan and the Wazaris, I wouldn't even be here right now. I was even wearing the blue dress you gave me when we first met and she made me remove it in front of all her minions or she would kill my father."

This made Dumont feel disgusted as the dress Jane wore to the wedding was one of his best Paris fashions. One thing that had always irritated Dumont was the mishandling of his best items, but in Jane's case, he felt she was more mishandled than the dress.

"If you want to be angry at me for having it be ruined, then do your worst," said Jane, removing the white starch collar from her neck. But, Dumont chuckled in reply as he rose to his feet.

"My dear Jane," he chuckled as he walked towards. "Why would I even do such a thing to a beautiful creature like you? You and your family are the most important parts of my life since I started my new life in the jungle and you are the one who brought my son back to me from Cape Doom. Why would I do my worst upon you?"

"You brought your worst upon us," remarked Hugo as he walked inside along with Hooft. "On more than once occasion."

"Yes, Junior," added Hooft, bringing in some rifles from outside. "There was this one time when we…"

"Don't you have to go and help some of my men with a large shipment that came in this morning?" asked Dumont, trying to get them out of his time with Jane. This made the two comedic men leave at once.

Once they were gone, Dumont could turn his attention back to Jane, who had gone back onto her feet as he realized that there was some kind of news that he had to pass along to her.

"Before I forget, Jane," he said, bringing over a telegram. "This was sent in this morning from your friends in England. It seems to me that they will be arriving in two days for a picnic that you have tried to have with them."

Jane was surprised at this as all she had gotten was news from Dumont that her friends would be returning, but not in two days. Now, it appeared that there was much to be done and to her, this was such short notice.

"Well, this was certainly unexpected," she remarked surprisingly and began to go all fussy. "There is so much to be done. I need to have my dress cleaned, I need to get supplies, food…"

"Don't worry my dear, Jane," chuckled Dumont, trying to calm her down. "I will help you with anything that you need for your attempt at having a picnic. I want you to enjoy yourself when your friends are here. "

Jane was delighted to hear this and after saying a brief goodbye, she emerged from the trading post and began to make her way back to the treehouse.

Meanwhile, Queen La had crawled towards the treehouse with a leopard cub in her mouth and she was manifesting a plan to kill Jane once and for all.

"All right, my child," she said to the unsuspecting leopard cub that she had taken from the den. "You are going to help me bring Jane out into the open where I will finish her off once and for all."

With that, La left as she saw Jane return to the treehouse. Her plan to finish off Jane once and for all was now in motion.


	7. Jane Meets the Leopard Cub

Chapter 7

"Jane Meets the Leopard Cub"

Following her time at Dumont's, Jane returned to the treehouse now better rested and looking forward to her friends' arrival in two days. She was hoping that this time, their picnic would not be interrupted by French soldiers armed with rifles and swords. Little did she know however that Queen La was setting a trap for her and that trap was in the form of a small leopard cub that she had taken from the den where La was now presiding over. Approaching the treehouse, Jane was just about to climb into the boat to bring herself up when she heard a low growling sound from behind her practice area.

"What is that?" she murmured to herself as she stepped out of the boat and approached the source of the sound coming from behind the tree. Jane turned to find the leopard cub who looked up at her with innocent eyes. "Oh, hello, what are you doing here?"

But, the cub didn't respond as it just sat there and gazed up at Jane. Jane knew that Tarzan despised leopards and after all, his family was killed by one when he was just a baby. But at the same time, she felt a sudden urge deep inside her that this cub was lost and that she needed to take care of it. However, Jane felt her urge at the moment to send the cub away.

"Now, look, I know you are cute and everything, but you shouldn't be here," Jane said firmly as the cub got up and rubbed itself against Jane's long green skirt. "So go on, go back to your family. Go on, shoo."

Jane then looked away from the cub and was just about to leave when she felt a sharp tug and let out a loud gasp when she found the cub had her skirt in its mouth.

"Now, that's mine so give it back," she grunted, trying to keep the cub from ripping her skirt off and exposing her bloomers. "It's not yours to chew."

Jane managed to pull the skirt out of the cub's mouth and was going to try to send away again, when the cub just sat there again staring at her.

"Oh, I can't stay mad at you," she sighed, picking the cub up in her hands. "You're just a leopard cub and you are all alone. Perhaps, you could stay here until we find your family. I just couldn't leave you out to fend for yourself now, can't I?"

So, Jane still held the leopard cub in her hands as she got in the boat and climbed up to the treehouse. As she climbed, Jane was beginning to think back to the moment when Nala had spoken to her about one day proving to Tarzan that she could defend herself. She had also mentioned about sharing the traits of self-defense to whatever child she would produce. Jane felt that this was the time to do so, but it would not be easy considering the fact that Tarzan was not going to allow a leopard cub to stay in the treehouse.

Meanwhile, Tarzan and the Wazaris had brought a weakened, but defiant Muviro back to the Wazari village where the treacherous ex-Wazari was brought before Keewazi and was undergoing some tough questioning, while being flanked by two other warriors on either side of him.

"Do you understand why you are here, Muviro?" snarled Keewazi, pointing his staff at Muviro's neck. "We are searching for Queen La and we need to know where she is. So, where is she?"

But, the ex-Wazari was not going to go down quietly as the elder Wazari chief, scowled at him before swinging his spear and striking Muviro in the face, bringing him down on one knee.

"If you answer me, then I will not use my staff on you," snapped Keewazi, as Muviro was hauled back onto his feet. "A fellow warrior was killed by a jungle cat and it could have been possessed by La, so tell us where she is hiding."

This made the ex-Wazari chuckle to himself, knowing that La is probably somewhere where the Wazari's could not touch her. Of course, this annoyed Keewazi, but allowed for Muviro to talk.

"Why are you wasting your time in asking me?" mocked Muviro, not realizing the severity of his actions. "She is probably somewhere where you cannot touch her. La is a free spirit and will remain so. If you hunt her, I will protect her. Kill me and my spirit will join her."

Keewazi knew that his patience with Muviro was clearly running out and he felt like killing him right then and there. It had been a long time since a Wazari was executed and Keewazi was soon not to have any choice whatsoever.

"So you are not going to reveal to us where La is hiding, Muviro?" he asked, pointing his staff at him again. "Tell us and we may let you live to see another day. This is your last chance."

But, Muviro stayed silent and allowed himself to accept his fate, if it meant protecting the Wazari that he loved.

"Never," he growled and Keewazi closed his eyes and flipped his staff around to show the sharp pointed end and taking an enormous gulp he stuck his staff into Muviro's chest as he coughed up the blood that was in his body and with blood splirting out of his mouth, fell on his side and died right then and there.

"You should have told us where she was, Muviro," said Keewazi mournfully, full of regret for having to kill a Wazari. "Now, you pay with your life."

Just outside the tent, Tarzan and Basuli could hear the gurgled sounds of Muviro's life being taken from him and wondered what had just happened.

"He should have listened, Tarzan," sighed Basuli, trying to look away. "My father would have spared his life."

"Muviro wasn't going to say anything, no matter how hard your father would have tried," said Tarzan. "We go after La alone, you and me, together as friends."

Basuli was hesitant for a moment, but then placed his hand with Tarzan's in a handshake. From here on in, Tarzan and Basuli were going to join forces.

Meanwhile, Simba had left the village and was continuing the search for La alone, when he heard a pair of loud roars and standing in front of him were two panthers.

Who these panthers were would soon be answered in due time.


	8. Nuru and Sheeta

Chapter 8

"Nuru and Sheeta"

With La's former lackey dead, Tarzan and Basuli had no other choice but to work together if they were ever going to find Queen La's spirit and recapture her. Tarzan knew that Jane and his entire gorilla family were in danger unless he captured her. However, just as they had left the village, Tarzan could sense that something was terribly wrong.

"Tarzan, what is it?" asked Basuli, as they stopped for a moment. "What are you sensing?"

"Trouble," he said quietly and began to race to the source of the disturbance with Basuli not far behind.

Meanwhile, Simba had come face to face with two panthers who were growling and snarling at him. The Lion king of the Pride Lands stood his ground as the panthers moved closer and closer towards him. Just then, they leapt into the air and one of the panthers got onto Simba's back and began to bite into his mane. Simba managed to shake it off and swipe his claw at the panther. His friend managed to climb up on his rear legs and swipe Simba again, but this time, Simba pushed him away and for a moment, that Simba would prevail. The battle continued until one of the panthers bit into Simba's shoulder, causing him to roar in pain and fall down onto the ground. The panthers then began to circle around Simba, waiting to kill him.

Just then, the sounds of a yell were heard and the panthers looked to see Tarzan and Basuli flying from the trees and the two panthers then turned their attention towards them. For a moment, it seemed that Tarzan knew who they were and just as they were about to react, the panthers were pushed back against a tree and knocked out for a brief moment.

"Nuru and Sheeta," thought Tarzan, clutching his spear. "What are they doing here?"

But, the panthers were not going to go down quietly and charged at Basuli and Tarzan. They fought and fought for a good amount of time and Simba tried to help, but the pain of his injury prevented him from doing so. Tarzan and Basuli got an edge on the panthers and after a brief moment, the two friends used their spears to strike the panthers and they quickly retreated back into the jungles.

"This isn't over," snarled the panthers as they left. "Queen La shall rise again and there will be nothing you can do to stop her."

This left Tarzan and Basuli in surprise as the panthers left, but Tarzan had much more pressing matters at hand, when he felt a sharp pain in his chest and fell to the ground, clutching it tightly. Basuli then crept down to his friend's level and examined the scratch on his friend's chest.

"Those panthers must have scratched you during the fight," said Basuli, examining Tarzan's injury. "We need to get help for you."

"I'm fine," groaned Tarzan, trying to get onto his feet. "Nuru and Sheeta, I thought they learned their lesson the last time that they came across us."

"There must be something about them," said Basuli, as Simba came over, trying to shake off his own injury. "My people have never seen panthers before because they are on a different part of the jungle."

Basuli then helped Tarzan onto Simba's back and they began to make their way back to the treehouse where unbeknownst to Tarzan, Jane was now nursing the leopard cub she had found until he was ready to return to its den.

"We must get you help now," continued Basuli, firmly. "We'll worry about the panthers later."

So, the three warriors continued to make their way back to the treehouse where Tarzan would get help for his injuries while at the same time, Nuru and Sheeta had returned to the den where Queen La was waiting for them. As far as she was concerned, the two panthers were only sent to bring back food and that they had taken a long time.

"I would like to know why you have brought nothing for us," demanded La, getting closer and closer to the panthers' personal space. "We need meat in order to survive."

"Please forgive us, your excellency," said Nuru, as he and his brother bowed before their leopard queen. "We encountered Tarzan and Simba, king of the Pride Lands and tried to kill them."

"What?!" thundered La, shouting into their faces. "You are not supposed to kill Tarzan; I am supposed to be the one to make Tarzan my mate. It is that Jane you are supposed to kill, you fools!"

The panthers looked at each other for a moment and wondered how they could make such a mistake. But, they couldn't think for very long as the ex-queen of Opar began to think of the leopard cub that she had left back at the treehouse.

"But, that may not be necessary if my plan goes well," she said, talking in a much calmer tone. "You see, my warriors, I have taken the child of one of the leopards here and left it at the home of Tarzan and Jane. Once Jane finds the cub, she will bring it back here and that will be the time for us to go in and kill her."

"We have seen the mate of Tarzan before," said Sheeta, trying to convince La to think otherwise. "We have seen how protective Tarzan is of her. Let us find her and kill her, your majesty. She is most vulnerable when she is alone."

La then began to think for a moment as her current plan could fail and that she would need a backup. It wasn't the most perfect plan, but these two panthers could be worth it when the time would come. Tarzan was always going to be there for Jane, and if she was going to get a chance, she would have to wait until the moment would come again.

"I will consider your suggestion," chuckled La as she walked past them. Nuru and Sheeta looked at each other, knowing that soon, their own plans for Jane would soon come to fruition and that they would be able to get another chance on their own terms to finish her off.


	9. Tarzan Meets the Leopard Cub

Chapter 9

"Tarzan Meets the Leopard Cub"

Following their fight with Nuru and Sheeta, Tarzan and his friends Basuli and Simba made their way back to the treehouse where Tarzan and Simba were treated for their injuries from the fight by Jane and Archimedes. The first aid that was administered to them made their wounds sting, but it was the only way if they would recover from their injuries in a quick and efficient manner.

"I'm sorry that you feel this way, Tarzan," sympathized Jane, as she placed one of many bandages on her husband's chest. "But, when you get injured fighting for those who live in this jungle, then you must endure these."

"You say that every time," he replied, rising to his feet. "But, I cannot help but wonder why Nuru and Sheeta would attack us again after what they nearly did to you and your friends, Jane."

Jane could well remember the first time she attempted to have a picnic with her friends. What result was a chase through the jungles and resulted in them being exiled by Tarzan. It was the time when Jane tried to persuade Tarzan to wear his father's suit when he felt that she was making pretend to be something that he wasn't.

"I'm very surprised just as much as you, Tarzan," said Archimedes, who was working on Simba. "Certain animals know better than to cross on one's territory when they have been banned once. It's basic jungle nature and instinct, if you will."

But, it soon became clear that jungle nature and instinct was not part of Nuru and Sheeta's vocabulary. They were predators who would do anything to finish what they started.

"Could they possibly be allied with Queen La?" guessed Basuli, walking over to Tarzan. "Now that she is a leopard, if you will?"

But, Tarzan knew that until he would actually meet La face to face, he refused to believe that La was a leopard. La was dangerous whether she was a leopard or not and he could not forget the agony he'd put Jane through recently. Little did he know at that moment that the leopard cub had crawled out of the treehouse and made its way down to the campsite. When the leopard came into view, a scowl came through Tarzan's face and he quickly turned his attention towards Jane who smiled nervously at her husband.

"Who is this?" he asked her sharply, pointing to the leopard cub. Jane knew that Tarzan detested leopards and to her, she thought that the cub was harmless.

"Yes, Jane, who is this?" added Archimedes, shocked and appalled that his daughter would bring a leopard into an unwanted area. "You know better that a leopard cannot be allowed here. Remember that other cub you brought here?"

"But, he was harmless," she protested picking the cub up. "Just like this one. Please understand, he's just a cub and he won't harm anybody. I'll make sure of it."

"Jane, I'm sorry, but he must go," said Tarzan, trying to be nice about it. "You know very well that leopards grow up to become killers and if he does grow up to be a killer, I could risk losing you and I have to be here for you at all times."

Jane then began to remember back to her conversation with Nala about trying to prove to Tarzan that she could defend herself. This leopard cub that she was holding in her hands represented a chance for her to do just that.

"Tarzan," she sighed, putting the cub down. "I have only lived in the jungle for a short time and I have seen the youth of the jungle grow into the creatures that they have become. We will one day have a child and maybe this cub could be good practice for us in being parents."

This made Tarzan very cross and with what his wife had said, he began to detest this idea even more than he already did. If he wanted an heir to his gorilla family and his human family, he would produce one with Jane and it would be just like him.

"Jane, you have to take him back," said Tarzan firmly.

"Take him back?" Jane gasped, trying to defend the cub. "But he'll die!"

"If the jungle wants him…" Tarzan began, but Jane interrupted.

"I want him," she retorted and this point, Tarzan's anger began to rise.

"Jane, I will not let you put our family in danger," said Tarzan, his anger slightly rising.

"Does he look dangerous to you?!" shouted Jane, putting the cub in Tarzan's face as he roared like a gorilla, banging his fists on his chest in fury. The roar caused the entire camp to fall into a deathly silence, with no one ever seeing Tarzan act this way. After a moment, Tarzan calmed down and approached Jane in a calming manner.

"Was it alone?" he asked.

"Yes, I found him alone here at the treehouse," replied Jane. "He must have lost his mother or his group of leopards."

"Are you sure?" asked Tarzan.

"Yes, there are no others who would take care of him," replied Jane, trying to cradle the cub, who began to put its paw in her hair. Tarzan was silent for a moment as this was a decision he had to think about carefully, given the fact that this was a leopard cub who would one day grow up into the monster that killed his parents. After a moment's thought, he sighed and then looked back up at his wife.

"Then you may keep him," sighed Tarzan.

"Tarzan, I know he will make a good member of his family…" said Jane, feeling a sense of relief that cub was in safe hands. But, Tarzan interrupted her again.

"I said he could stay Jane," said Tarzan sternly again. "That doesn't make him a part of this family."

Jane knew that her husband was right, but perhaps for a short period of time, this cub would have a home to call his own. But, little did any of them realize that Nuru and Sheeta were watching from a safe distance when La snuck up behind them.

"Watch her," she ordered to the panthers. "Once the time is right for the cub to return, then we kill her."

So, the waiting game had just begun.


	10. Jane's Friends Arrive

Chapter 10

"Jane's Friends Arrive"

In the days that followed, the leopard cub had found itself to enjoy the accommodations that were provided to it by Jane and her family. Many in the gorilla family found to enjoy the cub given the fact of the cuteness it displayed. As he watched the cub walk around the treehouse, Tarzan knew that something was not right. A leopard cub would not just wander away from its den on its own. Both and he Basuli knew that they had to find out the truth.

But, while he and Basuli went out for another day of looking for La, Jane made her way down to the trading post to await the arrival of her friends from England. Jane had chosen to wear her blue dress from the Wazari wedding as she wanted to look nice for her friends when they arrived. The leopard cub was then placed in a basket as Jane wanted to show her friends the leopard as it would be another conversation starter. However, the cub didn't like the basket and Jane spent a good deal of time trying to keep it calm.

"Now, listen," she said as she walked, pulling the cub out of the basket to reveal a red bow tied around its neck. "I know you don't like the ribbon, but we both must look our best for my friends, Eleanor, Greenley and Hazel, now don't we? Once everything is over, I will take that bow off. But, you must be on your best behavior."

Although it would rather have the bow off, the cub obeyed Jane's command. Even though it was young, the cub realized that Jane was very loving towards it and would do everything in its power to obey her.

Just then, Dumont walked in and saw the leopard cub in Jane's basket, much to his surprise. He had welcomed Terk and Tantor into his trading post on a frequent basis, but this was something completely different in his view. Even his son, Antoine, was surprised at this.

"Father, do you see what I see?" he asked Dumont. "There is something in Jane's basket and it is moving."

Jane had somehow overheard their conversation and walked over to show the cub to the unsuspecting father and son.

"He is not going to bite, he'll listen to me," said Jane, taking the basket with the leopard cub inside away. "I've been training him."

"If you say so, Jane," chuckled Dumont nervously as he continued to stare down at the cub. "But, once he is older, he won't be allowed in here."

"Yes, what he said," added Antoine as Jane stepped out to the docks to await the steamship bringing her friends. The Dumont's glanced nervously at each other having just experienced the first steps of a killer cat.

Meanwhile, Jane stepped onto the docks as a cold gust of wind from the sea breeze blew at her, sending the few strands of her hair against her face. She brushed her hair strands out of her face as the ship got closer and closer. Jane then looked up to see her three friends from England, wearing the dresses that they had worn the previous two attempted picnics. It took a few moments for them to disembark the boat as Dumont's employees set about unloading the ship with all of their supplies and luggage.

"It's so good to see you all," cried Jane as she hugged her friends. "I hope you are ready for our picnic tomorrow."

"Oh, goody," giggled Greenley, feeling giddy. "We have so much to catch up on, don't we girls?"

"Indeed," added Hazel who was wondering what was in the basket. "But, if you don't mind my asking…"

"What is in the basket?" finished Eleanor and Jane bent down to pick up the leopard cub from the basket with its bow still on around its neck. The girls gasped at what they saw inside the basket and began to think that Jane was growing crazy.

"It's a leopard cub," said Jane, trying to put on a forced smile. "He won't be with us for long, so don't worry about a thing."

The girls stayed unassumingly silent as Jane led them from the docks and into the trading post where Dumont and Antoine once again came across the leopard cub in its basket. However, they didn't stay for long and watched as the cub was taken from the trading post and back to the treehouse.

Meanwhile, Tarzan, Basuli and Simba were continuing their search for La when they came across what appeared to be a piece of staff, lying out in an opening. Tarzan picked it up and examined it closely and then his face dropped when he realized what it was.

"What is it, Tarzan?" asked Basuli, when Tarzan turned and show the staff piece to him and Simba. The staff piece was the head of a leopard and a large red orb was inside the head's mouth. "It can't be possible."

"It is," replied Tarzan. "It's the head of Queen La's staff and someone or something must have planted it here in this clearing."

"Could La be trying to recreate her spear?" asked Basuli, trying to get a sense of what was going on. "If her spear is recreating itself, then La will get her power back."

Tarzan then realized that he had a double threat on his hands: a leopard cub that his wife wanted to raise for a short period of time and now this, a piece of staff that La was trying to recreate magically. If La got her power back, then Jane would be in mortal danger as well as his family. Simba also knew as well for La would possibly once again seek out hyenas to do her bidding.

"What do we do?" asked Simba, trying to understand what was at stake along with Tarzan and Basuli. "Everyone at the Pride Lands will be at risk if we don't do something."

"Then we must keep looking," said Tarzan, already getting himself ready to take action. "The more pieces of staff we find, the less chances La has of getting her power back."

But, they didn't know of what was to come as La continued her watch on Jane and her friends waiting for the moment when Jane would be at her most vulnerable. However, La and her minions could see that they would have extra collateral in the form of Jane's friends.

The time would soon be drawing closer than expected.


	11. Where is my Cub?

Chapter 11

"Where is my cub?"

When Jane and her friends had returned to the treehouse after their walk from the trading post, the main topic was all about the leopard cub that Jane was caring for. Much like Tarzan himself, Jane's friends wondered why she would allow a dangerous creature to stay with them. In fact, the cub was starting to become restless when the tea and crumpets were first served. To make matters worse, it was starting to teeth and began to chew on anything hard. To this end, Timon and Pumbaa were reluctantly tasked to watch over the cub while Jane and her friends had their tea party. At the same time, Queen La was getting many visits from a female cub whose cub was missing.

"Your highness," she said, bowing to La. "Have you found my cub yet? He has been missing for two days now and I don't know where he is."

La could see that this was the mother of the cub whom she planted and tried to reason with her. This was all part of her ultimate plan to finish Jane off once and for all and was not going to let anyone stand in her way. All she could do was cover up her intentions in front of the mother leopard.

"They have all been searching," replied La, turning her back on the mother leopard. "Your cub seems to be presumed dead at this point."

But, the mother leopard was not buying it.

"I don't believe you," she snapped and this made La quickly turn around in annoyance. "Something has happened to my baby and there is something that you are not telling me."

"There is not very much I could do except to keep looking," protested La. "If we can't find him, then he is dead, no more and no less."

The mother leopard had no other choice and walked back to her den in a huff. She could plainly see that La was lying and that her cub was still alive somewhere. If she wasn't going to get help from a leopard who had just stolen power from her previous leader, then she would find the one who would help her and that was Tarzan.

La then saw the mother leopard leave and knew who she was seeking out. To this end, she beckoned over Nuru and Sheeta as she needed them to watch the leopard mother.

"Watch her," she ordered the panthers. "If she ruins my plan, then kill her."

"At once, your majesty," they said and bowed to her before leaving to follow her every move.

Meanwhile, the cub was being watched by Timon and Pumbaa whose nervousness around the cub began to vanish when it began to remind them of when they first met Simba. The cub was eating bugs and trying to swing from the trees like Tarzan.

"Hey, for a little monster, you are not so half bad," remarked Timon as he watched the cub eat a bug. "You remind me of another cat like yourself that we once had."

"Timon, that was Simba," whispered Pumbaa, nudging his friend slightly. "Remember? He spent many years with us."

They then watched the cub continue its attempt to climb the ropes and even though he couldn't talk like them, they were amazed to see that the cub had the same instincts as Simba, if not different.

"Who knows?" wondered Timon, as the cub clutched the vine in its mouth and swung across the small pool of water. "Maybe if this kid is orphaned, then we'll make him our own. It'll free up Tarzan and Jane of having to do all the dirty work."

Pumbaa decided to ignore the remark and watched as the cub continued to play around them.

Meanwhile, the mother leopard had spotted Tarzan, Basuli and Simba picking up another piece of La's staff and came quickly over to them. Normally, Tarzan would react in a defensive manner when it came to jungle predators. However, he could see that this leopard had no intention of hurting anyone. Still, he armed his spear at the ready in case the leopard turned hostile.

"How come it is not attacking?" wondered Basuli, but Simba could also see this as well and waved his paw to Tarzan, allowing him to step forward and talk to the leopard mother.

"It's all right," said Simba to the mother leopard. "Whatever is bothering you, we can help you. Tell us what is wrong?"

"It's my baby," said the mother leopard, her eyes welling up with tears. "He's been missing for several days and I can't seem to find him. My leader has told me that they are searching the jungles every day, but nothing has come up. I need your help to find him, Tarzan. You are my last hope now."

This made Simba and Basuli look at Tarzan in a confusing manner. It was not very likely that such a request would be made, especially for a creature that was Tarzan's mortal enemy. However, with each word that the mother leopard had spoken, Tarzan was starting to get a sense of what was going on.

"I hope you don't mind my asking," he said to the mother leopard. "What had happened to the previous leader of your den? Was he killed by another leopard?"

"He was," replied the mother leopard in a worried tone. "And the one who killed him calls herself Queen La of Opar. She is nothing like our previous leader and from what she has been saying about my baby is nothing but lies."

This made all three of them look at each other with worried glances as it now appeared that they had a situation where the leopard cub that had been with them for a short period of time had now belonged to this leopard.

"What do we do now, Tarzan?" asked Basuli, but just then Simba spotted another piece of staff and Tarzan ran over to pick up.

"Jane must let the cub go," he replied as he picked up the staff piece. It was not going to be easy for Tarzan, but the cub had to go back to its mother, no matter what would be said from here on in.


	12. Tea at the Treehouse

Chapter 12

"Tea at the Treehouse"

While Tarzan, Basuli and Simba dealt with the mother leopard, Jane and her friends had already sat down to a tray of tea and crumpets. It had only been a short time since they had all gotten together since they were all captured by Colonel Staquait and his men of the French Foreign Legion. Now, here they were, sitting down and enjoying each other's company just like when Jane was living back in England. However, Jane began to notice that someone was missing and it wasn't Tarzan or the Leopard cub.

"Greenley," said Jane, taking a sip of tea. "I couldn't help but notice that Henry seems to be not here. Are you two still together?"

"We are, Jane," replied Greenley, put her cup of tea down. "It's just that I tried to persuade him to come back, but he decided to go back to London where he would be safe. It's a pity, since we brought him here to be toughened up."

Jane chuckled at this and then her smile turned into a frown when the words "toughened up" were spoken, given the fact that she had her conversation with Nala a few nights earlier about wanting to defend herself.

"Was it something I said?" asked Greenley, nervously. "I'm sorry if I said anything Jane dear."

"No, its not that," replied Jane, still looking down and feeling bluer as the blue dress she was wearing. "It's just that ever since daddy and I moved here to Africa, I have always been getting myself caught up in situations where Tarzan has to come and rescue me. All I want to do is prove to him that I could defend myself from our enemies."

This made her friends gasp as they were shocked to hear that their childhood friend from Finishing school was wanting to do such a thing. As far as they were concerned, Jane was still a proper young lady from England who allowed the jungle atmosphere to get to her head.

"I'm very surprised at this," chuckled Eleanor to herself. "This is not like you Jane. The Jane Porter we knew always depended on a man to protect herself from harm. Now, you wanted to adapt to life in the jungle and break the boundaries that…"

"Yes, I do," interrupted Jane, giving Eleanor a stern glance. "I'm no longer living in England and the jungle is my home now, so I must learn to adapt to it. You might say that Henry tried to adapt, but it's just not for him."

Greenley nodded at this knowing that Jane was right. The jungle was not for him and not for the faint of heart. In a sense, bringing her boyfriend to the jungle was a revelation of his character. But, Jane was a completely different story. She was a strong and independent young woman who had always wanted to live among the gorillas and was now living her dream.

"I suppose you're right," sighed Greenley. "What Eleanor was trying to say was just what was said when we first arrived here the first time. We think that you are still no longer the Jane Porter we went to finishing school with."

"Didn't our first picnic teach you anything?" remarked Jane, standing up to pick up the tea tray. "Sometimes we have to drop our character in order to survive and I allowed myself to be captured by evil men and animals because I didn't drop my character. There may be a time where I have to defend myself and when I have to defend myself, I will need to drop my character."

This small speech of Jane's made her friends nod knowing that in their minds, she had completely lost it. Nevertheless, their suspicions of Jane were quickly banished with what she said next upon returning from the kitchen.

"However, we still have a picnic tomorrow that needs to be done," she said happily and the mood quickly turned back to joyful upon hearing those words.

"Indeed, we do Jane," said Greenley excitedly. "It's too bad Henry isn't here."

But, just then, Tarzan appeared in the doorway and Jane could see that he needed to talk to her. Jane's friends also noticed this and motioned for Jane to go over to him.

"What is it, Tarzan?" she asked, adjusting her dress a little bit. But, Tarzan just stood there for a moment and Jane simply walked over and shut the door behind her, leaving her friends inside.

"Jane, it's the leopard cub," he replied once they were alone. "His mother is looking for him and he needs to go, right now."

This made Jane feel shocked at how soon this was. Her friends were here and now this was a shocking development for her.

"But, Tarzan, how could you say that?" she asked shockingly. "Didn't anything about last time we had a cub teach you anything?"

"Yes, it taught me that there are some creatures that cannot stay with us," replied Tarzan. "The leopard cannot go with you and your friends tomorrow. La is alive and she may have placed the cub here to lure you out into the open."

Jane was filled with raw emotion at this point and tried to the find words to reason with Tarzan. But, she was speechless at all of this. At the same time, she refused to believe that La was alive.

"I don't believe you about La," she gasped as Timon and Pumbaa looked back up at the jungle couple with the cub at their side. "She can't be alive."

"She is Jane and she is looking for you," retorted Tarzan, rising to his feet. "The longer the cub stays, the more danger that we are all in. I'm sorry, but he must go."

Jane was too emotional at this point to even argue with her husband and knew that at that moment, the cub needed to go, even though it was going to be tough for her.

"When should I take him to the mother?" she asked, tears forming in her eyes.

"You can't Jane," said Tarzan, tenderly. "I'm sorry, but you can't. He must find his own way back to the mother. Just try to focus on your picnic tomorrow with your friends. He'll be fine."

Jane emotionally nodded at this and went back inside the treehouse while Tarzan looked down at the leopard cub with a look of regret on his face.

"It's for the best, Jane," he thought to himself as this was a decision that was best for all of them.

Little did neither Tarzan nor Jane know that their conversation was all being listened in by Nuru and Sheeta who were listening in on the matter at hand.

Queen La's plan was about to take effect.


	13. La Makes Her Move

Chapter 13

"La Makes Her Move"

Early the next morning, Jane awoke and began to put together the food and drinks for the picnic with her friends. She was still very troubled by the events of yesterday when Tarzan had told her that the leopard cub must go because its mother was looking for him. Tarzan had left early that morning to look for more pieces of La's broken staff. Jane was never told about the staff but she refused to believe that La was still on the loose. As she packing her basket, she looked over at the leopard cub who was chewing on a flower that was blown into the treehouse during the night.

"I can't just leave you to find your family alone," she thought as she bent down to pick it up. "Maybe after the picnic, we'll go find your family."

Jane was completely oblivious to the last time that she had a leopard cub. She and Kala had brought it to a den and was nearly killed because of it. This cub that she had now was no different than any other creature that she had ever come across. At the same time, Jane thought that if she did bring the cub back to the den without help from Tarzan, she could prove to him that she was capable of managing herself.

Nevertheless, she still had a picnic to prepare for and once she finished packing her basket, she went into the bedroom and changed out of her jungle clothes and into her yellow dress. Once she finished dressing, she placed a bow tie on the cub and placed it into a separate basket. The cub was not happy to be in the bow tie again, but Jane wanted to spend a little more time with it before she would take it back to its family.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to her, Nuru and Sheeta saw her leave the treehouse with the cub in the basket and raced back to the den to warn La.

"She took the cub away from her home," said Nuru. "She is not coming here, your majesty."

"Then, why didn't you follow her you fools?" snapped La, rising to her feet. "You should have killed her right then and there."

The sounds of La's raised voice caused the two panthers to back away nervously. Nevertheless, La was still satisfied either way because now she could finish what she had started and that was to kill Jane herself.

"But, I'll forgive you this once, my warriors," she said hissingly as she walked past the two panthers. "For now, if Jane is alone then I will finish her off myself. Come, we must follow her."

But then, La stopped in her tracks when she realized that her staff was still missing. Without her staff, she would never get her power back and then turned to several more leopards who were in nearby caves.

"Wait!" she called out to Nuru and Sheeta, who stopped from leaving the den any further. "I must retrieve my staff that holds my powers. Have those fools come over to me!"

The two panthers growled and the leopards came over in an obedient manner. They were all female and were eager to listen to what La had to tell them.

"My warriors," she said to her legion of leopards. "My staff that holds my power is still out there in pieces. There is no doubt that Tarzan is finding it to prevent me from getting my power back. Go and stop Tarzan and retrieve my staff from him. Do not fail me, my warriors!"

So the leopards obeyed their leader's command and left the den to seek out the broken staff that was now in Tarzan's possession. Then, La turned back to her panther lieutenants.

"We leave for Jane at once," she ordered and flanked by Nuru and Sheeta, left the den to seek out her target. Little did she know that she would not come out of this alive, but it never crossed her mind to begin with.

Meanwhile, Jane arrived at the trading post and once again, much like the day before, Dumont and Antoine saw the cub in the basket again and for good measure, stayed behind the counter in a nervous manner.

"Don't worry, you two," chuckled Jane, pushing the cub back into the basket with her gloved hand. "He'll be gone after today, you'll see."

"I hope you are right, Miss Porter," replied Antoine, clutching his father's hand tightly. "By the way, you look more beautiful than yesterday."

"Are you only saying that because I look pretty in this dress or is it just because you are trying to get your mind off the cub?" asked Jane suspiciously.

"A little bit of both," remarked Dumont as Jane's friends, dressed in their dresses from yesterday, arrived in the room. After hugging them briefly, Jane led them out of the trading post and into the jungles for their picnic.

The French father and son sighed in relief now that the cub was gone, but just then, a low growling noise was heard out in the distance and Dumont motioned for one of his men to go and investigate the matter. The man went outside and fired several rounds into the air in an effort to scare the source away. After firing the shots, the growling stopped and the man was allowed to return to the trading post.

"What did you see out there?" Dumont asked the man, who placed his gun back onto the ground. To him, he was just as confused as Dumont and his son.

"I don't know, Monsieur Dumont," said the man, shrugging his shoulders. "It sounded like a lion or something. Those women don't suppose are going for their picnic with whatever is out there, isn't it?"

"What do we do, father?" asked Antione, as his father got out from behind the counter and walked outside with the man. Antoine soon followed as Dumont looked out to what was happening.

"I have to warn Tarzan," he thought. "If Jane and her friends are out there with whatever is out there, then she is in grave danger."

Little did Dumont know that at that moment, Tarzan, Basuli and Simba had just found another piece of the staff when they were soon confronted by La's leopards, eager to get their hands on La's staff at all costs.


	14. All the Cats Join In

Chapter 14

"All the Cats Join In"

While Jane and her friends were en route to their picnic spot, both Tarzan and Dumont could sense that there was going to be trouble. Just as Tarzan and his friends had picked up another piece of La's staff, they were soon confronted by the leopards who were growling and snarling at them.

"Tarzan, what do we do?" asked Basuli, crouching into a battle position. "There is too many of them."

"We stand and fight to the death," replied Tarzan, clutching his spear tightly. "We must protect Jane and our friends and family."

"I agree," added Simba, getting ready to pounce on the leopards. Just then, the leopards leapt into the air and the three friends did the same and soon, Tarzan, Basuli and Simba were fighting the hoards of Leopards that made their move on them. With each swipe of their claw and the gnashing of their teeth, the three friends responded by stabbing them with their spears or using their brute strength on them.

The battle raged on for a short period time and soon, the leopards were starting to gain the upper hand. One of the leopards that Tarzan was fighting against had knocked the broken piece of staff out of his hands and Tarzan struggled to pick it up, but the leopard was not going to let him get away that easily. Tarzan responded to this by kicking the leopard in its mouth and another leopard soon picked up the slack, by placing itself onto Tarzan's back, causing him not to move. Both Basuli and Simba had a chance as well, but were soon overpowered.

For a moment, it seem like everything would be over until a loud roar was heard and everyone turned to see that a leopard had been hit by a spear and fell over dead. Soon a barrage of arrows and spears came down on the leopards and many of them either ran away at that moment or were put to the death by the weapons that were being thrown. As to who was firing the shots, Basuli looked up and what he and the others saw next made them smile. A group of Wazari warriors came out from behind the bushes and ran over to their side and leading the charge was Keewazi, who looked down at his son as he got back onto his feet.

"Father," he gasped as Keewazi continued to look down at him. "Thank you for saving us. But, what are you doing here?"

"Why, we are doing the same thing as you," replied Keewazi, who let out a small chuckle. "Even the future leaders of our tribe need some help sometimes."

Basuli chose to ignore the remark as Tarzan walked over to his friends' side, followed by Simba.

"We found several more pieces of her staff," said Tarzan, giving Keewazi the piece that was knocked out of his hands during the fight. "Did we find them all?"

"Not quite, Tarzan," sighed Keewazi, examining the broken piece of staff. "Not quite."

"But we found plenty of others," replied Tarzan. "They are over at the treehouse where they are safe."

But, Keewazi had to disagree with Tarzan, for he had a greater fear than most his position would normally have as to him, there was much more to La's staff than even Tarzan didn't know about.

"They must not be there, Tarzan," he said, taking his attention off of the broken piece of staff. "If they are out in an open area, then La can easily command the staff to return to her and once she does, her power will return."

"Then what do we do, father?" asked Basuli, picking up his spear. "Do we destroy the staff or not?"

"The only way it can be destroyed is if all the pieces are destroyed," advised Keewazi as they left the battlefield. "If one piece is able to survive, then all the pieces will survive as well. Destroy the staff and you will destroy La's power, ridding her forever."

Hearing this message, the three friends returned to their search as the Wazari soldiers picked up the dead leopards and tied them to long sticks where they would disposed of at the Wazari village. Keewazi however knew that their time was running out for as far as he was concerned La would be getting stronger by the hour and even without her staff, she still possessed the body of a leopard and that alone made her more dangerous without her magic.

Meanwhile, Jane and her friends had arrived at their favorite picnic spot overlooking the waterfall and the leopard cub was allowed to be let out of the basket as began to run around wildly when it caught hold of a butterfly. This gave Jane and her friends an opportunity to set up their area as well as begin their small talk.

"He sure is cute, Jane," remarked Hazel, as Jane laid the blanket down on the grass. "It's too bad he will one day grow into a leopard."

"I know," Jane sighed sadly, as she placed the picnic of food down on the blanket. "It's too bad, but I will have to bring him back eventually. Care for some tea?"

Jane then took out a tea kettle and poured some tea for herself and her friends. The cub then crawled over and began to swipe its claw at the lace of Jane's petticoat. Knowing it was her best and only petticoat, Jane tossed a piece of bread at the cub and he ran off. Jane's friends chuckled at this, knowing that the cub was only trying to have fun. Jane didn't think it was because she was wearing her best and favorite yellow dress after all.

Nevertheless, they continued to have their tea and for a moment it seemed like everything was going to be coming together for a perfect picnic.

"You see, girls," she said to her friends. "I've said it before and I'll say it again. We can be quite civilized when we want to be."

Of course, little did they all know was at that moment, La and her panther warriors smiled at each other knowing that the time was now.

"It's time my loyal warriors," said La evilly and the two panthers agreed at this and growling quietly, they began to advance towards Jane and her friends. The cub had just finished eating the bread that Jane had thrown at it, when it began to grow nervous. The cub then began to roar feebly in an effort to warn them of the approaching.

"What is it now, you little-?" Jane began as she got up to see what was happening and then she and her friends let out a loud gasp as La, Nuru and Sheeta advanced towards them.

"Jane, at long last, you are mine," hissed La and she knew that this was the moment that she had been waiting for: the moment that her target, Jane Porter, was at her mercy.


	15. The Chase is On

Chapter 15

"The Chase is On"

It's happened again for Jane and her friends. Another attempt at a civilized English style picnic was interrupted, this time by Queen La and her panther lieutenants, Nuru and Sheeta, who had attacked Jane and her friends before. As the three cats advanced towards Jane and her friends, the young Englishwoman attempted to reason with her attackers.

"Now, listen to me, you cats," said Jane nervously, trying to get them to leave as Nuru and Sheeta surrounded them. "You just don't even consider making us your dinner. I mean, we're only skin and bones and I have it on good authority that English taste quite gamey."

"Oh, yes," added Eleanor, as she and her other friends, sucked their guts in. "English taste quite gamey."

"And Gristly," added Hazel.

The two panthers continued to swarm the four Englishwomen as La stepped forward and walked over towards Jane, smiling evilly at her. As far as she was concerned, Nuru and Sheeta would have her friends, but Jane was hers.

"Well, well, well," chuckled La, advancing towards Jane and knocking her down on her bustle. "So, we meet again, Jane."

Jane gasped upon recognizing the voice of La and slapped her with her gloved hand, but La merely chuckled at this.

"Impossible," gasped Jane who was now trembling with fear. "It can't be. You're supposed to be dead."

"Spirits can't die, Jane," replied La evilly, as she began to climb on top of Jane as her friends watched in horror. "For far too long, I have longed for a human body to replace the one I lost and now it appears I am only mere moments from obtaining my ultimate goal."

Jane then noticed a tea cup that held hot tea inside and was now beginning to calculate the moments where she would use it to strike La in the face. At that moment, La had Jane on her back and ready to finish the job.

"You won't get away with this, La," said Jane, scared but brave. "I'll see fit that Tarzan and his friends deal with you."

"Oh, I already have gotten away with it," chuckled La, smiling evilly and ready to sink her fangs into Jane. "Once my staff is found, my power will return to me and there will be nothing you can do to stop me."

At this point, La opened her mouth and Jane closed her eyes preparing for death, while at the same time, she began to reach for the teapot that contained the hot tea. Suddenly, La let out a loud roar and turned around to see the leopard cub was biting on her tail. This allowed Jane to get back up and lead her friends away from the impending danger.

"RUN!" she screamed and Jane and her friends ran as fast as they could from the scene of impending death as La struggled to get the cub off of her tail. Finally, she managed to get the cub off by biting it in the back and throwing it off to the side. Then, she turned to Nuru and Sheeta.

"Don't just stand there!" La barked to the two panthers. "Get them! But, bring that Jane to me!"

Heeding their leader's command, the panthers gave chase and charged at the women as they climbed up a dead tree and soon advanced towards them when all of a sudden the tree began to crack and it fell over and raced down a slope and into the river below. The force of the fall knocked Nuru and Sheeta off of the tree, causing them to land hard on the surface below. La then ran over to them and looked down with disgust upon what she saw.

"You idiots!" she yelled at them as the panthers shook off their fall. "Come on, I'll show you how it's done!"

So, La jumped onto the tree with Jane and her friends on the other end. The panthers soon joined La and Jane knew at that moment, that she had to defend her friends from these evil cats. Spotting a branch on the side of the tree, Jane broke it off and whacked La on the head. But, the crafty Queen of Opar merely shook it off and took a bite of the branch when Jane swung it at her again. This caused Jane to lose her balance and fall off the side of the tree into the rushing waters below.

Her friends screamed in horror upon seeing this and while they were left at the mercy of Nuru and Sheeta, La jumped off the side and attempted to finish off Jane as the rushing waters pulled her faster and faster through the currents. However, she didn't get very far and was pulled away before she could reach her target.

"This is it," Jane thought. "I'm going to die drowning in the rivers of Africa. I love you, Tarzan, Daddy, girls. I'll give my regards to our father in heaven."

At that moment, Jane began to lose consciousness as the weight of her yellow dress was keeping her from swimming to shore and prepared herself to enter heavenly paradise. Suddenly, just as she was about to commend her spirit, Jane opened her eyes and found herself on the shore of a faraway portion of the jungle. Much like herself, her friends were completely soaked and their dresses began to weigh down on them.

"What happened?" Jane groaned as she got to her feet. "How did I get here?"

"Oh, Jane, thank the heavens you are alive!" gasped Eleanor. "We were so worried about you! We thought you were dead."

But, the Englishwoman did not respond to this and instead squeezed the water out of her dress and attempted to place her hair back into its bun after it came undone in the water, trying to maintain some dignity.

"Forget about me," Jane replied fussingly. "Are you all alright, girls?"

"We are now that you are safe," said Greenley. "You had us scared greatly there."

Jane then looked out into the jungles and began to think of the quickest way to get back to the treehouse. This was actually the same route that they took before and Jane thought this could work again.

"What is it, Jane?" asked Hazel, worriedly. "What are you seeing?"

"This is the way back to the treehouse," replied Jane, her attention focused on the jungle. "Follow me, we must hurry before they find us."

So, picking up the skirt of her yellow dress, Jane began to walk into the jungle and although they were more than confused, her friend's soon followed remembering that Jane had extensive knowledge of the jungle.

However, they were soon being watched by La and her cohorts, who had been knocked into the water during the chase.

La's hunt for Jane and her friends were far from over.


	16. Using Her Jungle Skills

Chapter 16

"Using Her Jungle Skills"

By the time that Jane and her friends had gotten as far as they could into the jungle, the sun had already set and night had fallen on them. The air had turned cold and the wet dresses that they were all wearing made it even colder for them. However, while her friends were already succumbing to the hazards of the jungle, Jane just kept being perky and brave. But, at the same time, she was thinking of the leopard cub that tried to protect her from certain death caused by La. She wanted to be there for it, but she couldn't it. Jane had to press on for the sake of her friends.

"Right," Jane said as they continued their trek through the jungle. "If we could just make it to the baboon stream, we should be able to get home, right girls?"

But, Jane's friends didn't respond as they stopped to sit down on some rocks and took off their boots to reveal blisters on their feet. Their stockings had been ripped away by the waters and their legs were also starting to feature blisters as well.

"Jane, we're sorry," moaned Greenley, trying to stay as upbeat as her best friend. "We are doing our best to keep up with you, but it's just that we have blisters that are bothering us greatly."

"Indeed," added Eleanor. "This is absolutely preposterous of what we put ourselves into. Why can't we just come to the jungles and have a normal garden party like what we had in England without dealing with psychopathic animals that want to kill us?"

But, Jane chose to ignore Eleanor's rants and instead took Eleanor's boots and pulled off the heels, much to Eleanor's shock.

"My shoes, Jane, honestly!" gasped Eleanor, but Jane wasn't done there. She then reached into the back of Eleanor's dress and loosened the back of it, removing the skirt and then the petticoat, exposing her bloomers, much to her horror.

"Good heavens, what are you doing?" gasped Greenley. "You don't mean we should…?"

But, Jane simply nodded and Hazel along with Greenley followed suit on what happened to Eleanor and pulled off the heels of their boots and removed the skirts and petticoats of their dresses. Once she saw her friends do what they did, Jane removed her boots and pulled off the heels and then placed her hands on the back of her dress and first removed the skirt and then dropped her petticoat along with it, revealing her white bloomers.

"We should move finely now," said Jane, who then started walking along the route again. Her friends were shocked at this as they had once again been subjected to this horror again. But, they all had to remember that this was the jungle and not London. Still, they were still worried about being spotted by someone while they were in their undergarments.

"But Jane," whispered Eleanor, still in disgust over Jane's stunt. "What if someone sees us?"

"The only thing that we need to worry about is them seeing us," replied Jane in a low voice and she pointed to Nuru, Sheeta and Queen La who were a good distance away from them, searching the jungles for any sign of Jane and her friends. Now being able to walk freely, the four Englishwomen continued their trek, desperate to get back to where they were before.

Meanwhile, Tarzan and his friends had been searching for more pieces of La's staff all day and were just about to go their separate ways when Tarzan began to notice that Jane and her friends had never returned from their picnic.

"Tarzan, what's wrong?" asked Simba, sensing that something was the matter. "Is it La?"

"No, it's Jane," he said quietly and ran over to the source of the disturbance with Basuli and Simba following behind. Soon, they reached the area where the picnic was supposed to be and saw that the picnic area was completely destroyed and everything was scattered all over the ground. Just then, Simba looked over and saw the leopard cub lying on the ground almost dead.

"Tarzan!" cried Basuli, looking over to him as he joined Simba. "Come over here, quickly!"

Tarzan ran over and looked down at the leopard cub with pity in his eyes. As much as he despised leopards, he couldn't help but feel sorry for the leopard. He had been very hard on it and wanted to take everything back what he said.

"Is it alive?" he asked Basuli.

"It's still breathing," replied Basuli, who could hear the labored breaths coming from the cub. "I think it's just unconcisous."

Suddenly, a loud screech was heard and the three friends were shocked to see a leopard race into the area and this caused Basuli to throw the injured leopard cub into the air, but the leopard managed to catch in her teeth. The shock of this caused Basuli to lose his balance as the leopard nuzzled the cub.

Just then, after a few moments, the cub opened its eyes and looked up towards the leopard, smiling warmly at it.

"My baby, my baby," cried the leopard upon realizing that it was her cub that she was looking at. "I'm so glad you are alive."

This recent turn of events caused confusion among Basuli and Simba, but Tarzan could see that this was where the cub belonged, with a leopard and not with Jane. However, the leopard was not very forgiving towards Tarzan and the others, thinking that they killed her mortally killed her cub.

"You're lucky that he is not dead," she hissed, but Simba was determined to set the record straight. "I would have killed you all."

"Listen to me!" cried Simba, putting himself between the leopard, Tarzan and Basuli. "We are not the ones responsible for what happened to your cub."

This made the leopard lower her ground as the cub struggled to get back on its feet. She could see that the cub was somehow hurt and then a thought raced through her mind upon remembering that her cub couldn't have disappeared on its own.

Just then, another rustling sound came through the bushes and it was revealed to be Timon and Pumbaa with what appeared to be a bouquet of wildflowers in Timon's hand.

"Hey, I've been waiting all day for Jane to return," said Timon huffily. "I wanted to give her these flowers, so where is she?"

But, all Timon got was a confused look from all that were present. This made Pumbaa look down at his friend with a worried glance.

"I don't think they are going to answer," he whispered and Timon dropped the flowers onto the ground.

"Oy, and to go through all this trouble," replied Timon bitterly, but his attitude soon changed with what Tarzan had said next.

"Queen La was here," he said coldly. "And Nuru and Sheeta, too."

This sent the meerkat into a shocked state upon hearing this and began to grow desperate for Jane's safety.

"You aren't saying that she is going after Jane and her friends?" asked Basuli.

"Then, we must find them," added Simba.

"Come on!" called Tarzan, racing off into the jungle. "We don't have much time!"

So, the chase was on to find and her friends before La and her panther cohorts.


	17. Not a Garden Party

Chapter 17

"Not a Garden Party"

With La and her panther cohorts hot on their tail, Jane and her friends continued to find their way back to the treehouse while at the same time, trying to avoid being detected by them. This included going underwater which did not bode well with Jane's friends. However, Jane was more than determined to get her friends to safety and if it included getting shoved into the muck, then so be it was.

"Now, it's just a little algae, it will wash right off," said Jane, treading through the stream.

"Jane dear," replied Greenley. "Are you saying that you expect to walk through this…"

"Filth?" retorted Eleanor, but Jane had to set the record straight with them.

"It's the only way the panthers and La will completely lose our scent," explained Jane and that sold it as they quickly grabbed each stick that Jane had given them.

Meanwhile, La and Nuru and Sheeta were still trying to pick up a scent on them when La spotted something lying in the distance. The three cats ran over to the source and sniffed at the skirts and petticoats that Jane and her friends had left behind.

"It has their scent," said Nuru, looking over to La. "And their footprints are leading to somewhere."

"Indeed," added Sheeta, sniffing one of the petticoats. "If Tarzan were to meet them, then all will be lost."

This made La grow even more desperate to finish off Jane once and for all. Rather than responding to what her loyal panthers had said, she went off in a huff and decided to follow the footprints that Jane and her friends had left behind. Being the loyal obedient cats that they were, Nuru and Sheeta followed her as Tarzan and his friends soon arrived on the scene. They too, had been following the footprints that Jane and her friends had left behind since their time on the river. Tarzan then saw the discarded skirts and petticoats of Jane and her friends and like La and her panthers, he examined them to clarify that it was indeed theirs.

"These belong to Jane and her friends," he said, to his own friends. "They headed this way."

"Why am I not surprised?" remarked Timon. "Jane would do anything to protect those closest to her. Even revealing what humans are not supposed to show."

"Hakuna Matata, Timon," reminded Pumbaa, trying to keep his friend calm. "Some humans need to show what they don't need to show if they have to survive."

Timon was surprised at this and as the rescue party resumed their search, everyone knew that time was running out and that they needed to find Jane and her friends as quickly as possible.

"But Tarzan," said Basuli as they resumed their hunt. "What if Jane and her friends were indeed captured by La? You've seen the damages that La caused while Jane was possessed by her."

Tarzan didn't like what his friend had to say and instead chose to ignore it. However, Basuli had to remind Tarzan of the possible worst case scenario.

"How could you say that?" he asked crossly. "Jane should know how to survive in this jungle because I taught her everything she needed to know to survive in the jungle."

"Not really Tarzan," replied Simba. "Nala was at the treehouse several nights ago and they talked about Jane not being able to defend herself because you are so worried about her."

For the first time, Tarzan was learning the truth about Jane's conversation with Nala. Hearing all of this made him feel bad for Jane. Yes, Jane was living in the jungle, but she wasn't born and raised like Tarzan was.

"Of course, I worry about her," sniffed Tarzan, climbing onto a tree to look out for Jane and her friends. "She's my wife and I will be there for her, even if she needs to defend herself when I am unable to. Jane has improved greatly since her friends were on a picnic the first time they were here."

Tarzan then looked back down towards his friends with a look of surprise as they just looked up in surprise at what Tarzan had said.

"If Jane can defend her friends from La, then you must give her a chance," said Simba, looking up to him. "Now is a perfect time for her to do just that."

But, Tarzan refused to believe this and all he did at that moment was jump off the tree and continue the search alone. He seemingly deep down refused to believe that Jane could defend herself without him watching her every move. Feeling exasperated, his friends followed him and the search had resumed.

Meanwhile, Jane and her friends had been underwater for a considerable amount of time and soon they came to the same area where Nuru and Sheeta had them at their mercy before.

"Did we lose them?" gasped Eleanor, trying to catch some air like all the others around her. But, just then, Greenley let out a scream when she saw something on her arm. This caught the attention of La and her panther cohorts who then made their way over to the scene.

"LEECH!" screamed Greenley as Jane rolled her eyes and pulled whatever was on Greenley off of her arm.

"It's only a leaf," she said mockingly. "So much for keeping it quiet."

"Sorry," whimpered Greenley, and at that point, Eleanor had lost patience with Jane.

"Don't be," retorted Eleanor, who then stormed over to Jane. "Jane, what sort of outing is this? The first time, we went through the same thing; the second time we were captured by a mad Frenchman and his band of soldiers and now this: you strip us to our unmentionables and then you shove us into the muck. What do you want us to do next: swing from the trees and grunt like gorillas?"

At this point, Jane lost her patience with them. The first step in her mind at least was to get her friends to understand why she was doing what she did.

"If it keeps us alive," she snapped, raising her gloved hand at her friends. "In case any of you have noticed by now, this is the jungle! Once again, it is not a garden party and I never should have pretended it was! But, right now, our survival depends on you doing what I say with any argument. Are we understood?!"

This made her friends nod in reply with worry on their faces as Jane finally had gotten her friends to understand the severity of their situation.

"Now, that is more like it," she said reassuringly.

But just then, a loud roar was heard and the three cats came forward and began to corner Jane and her friends, snarling loudly as they possibly could. La snickered as she and her panthers circled Jane and her friends, eager to start the feast as quickly as possible.

"Now, I have got you right where I want you," chuckled La evilly as Jane and her friends trembled with fear.

"So, do we swing from the trees and grunt like gorillas?" asked Eleanor nervously as they waited for their fate.

But, Tarzan and his friends were hearing all the commotion and were soon on their way to the rescue.


	18. Fight to the Death

Chapter 18

"Fight to the Death"

For a moment, it seemed that Jane and her friends were doomed to be at the mercy of La and her panther warriors. Everything that Jane had done up until that point was flashing before her eyes and it seemed for a moment that she would never get a chance to prove to Tarzan that she was capable of defending herself from harm.

Suddenly, the four Englishwomen looked up when they heard an all too familiar yell and they saw Tarzan looking down on all of them with a spear clutched right in his hands. La then looked up and saw her intended mate with a look of intended death upon his face. This made her stretch out her claws and snarl loudly at this.

"He'll ruin everything," she thought and then turned back over towards Nuru and Sheeta. "I must do something and fast."

Then she decided what needed to be done and that was to take on Tarzan alone and only injure him while Jane was to be slaughtered by Nuru and Sheeta. But, she didn't have long to act as Tarzan leapt off the ledge and used his spear to cut Nuru on the back. The panther roared in pain as Tarzan began to battle him and Sheeta. La was about to join in the battle when a loud roar was heard and Simba came barreling into the fight with Basuli on his back, a spear clutched in his own hand. The king of the Pride Lands swung his claw at La and knocked her on her back. Basuli leapt off and helped his friend fight the panthers while Simba and his human friends tried to fend off the cats.

"I must say," remarked Hazel, seemingly taken aback by what she was seeing in front of her and her friends. "Tarzan seems to be getting more and more…"

"…Muscular," added Eleanor when all of a sudden, she was pulled up by a strange creature and soon Hazel was pulled up and finally Greenley who then screamed for Jane when Nuru came out of a pile of rocks. But before the panther could catch her, the strange creature pulled her up and threw her into Greenley.

"Didn't want you down there as cat chow," said the creature who turned out to be Terk, who had been called over by Tarzan along with Tantor and Archimedes to help out in the rescue.

But, Jane grew concerned for Tarzan as Nuru and Sheeta chased him up to the top of a rock ledge. For a moment, it seemed that Tarzan was going to elude them, but he missed a jump and planted himself into the side of the ledge.

"Tarzan, no," she gasped in horror as her husband fell back down to the earth below. Basuli saw his friend was in trouble and tried to help, only to be stopped by La who had her claws at the ready. Facing off against a former member of his tribe, Basuli swung and pointed his spear at La who then bit into the spear and broke it in half. Fearing his inevitable fate, Basuli began to think back throughout his whole life, but his date with death was interrupted when Simba swung his paw at La, knocking her away. At this point, Jane couldn't take anymore and grabbed a vine, swinging down to her husband's aide.

"No, Jane!" cried Timon, calling out to her. "What are you doing?!"

"We've got to do something, Timon," added Pumbaa, as Timon climbed onto his back. But, just as they were about to head down, they were stopped by Archimedes.

"She must handle this alone," he said and the group looked down as Jane ran over and pulled on Nuru's tail tightly. The elder panther didn't like this and snarled at her menacingly. Chuckling nervously, Jane began to run as fast as she could from the panthers.

But Tarzan reacted fast and pulled on Nuru's tail tightly, dragging him away and swinging him over and into Sheeta. The two panthers then quickly rebounded as Tarzan grabbed Jane and climbed up onto the ledge of the cliff that was above them. Tarzan then quickly raced up as the panthers leapt up to Jane's level and growled menacingly at her.

"Where is he?" snarled Nuru as Jane pointed nervously up at the ledge where Tarzan was and at that moment, Tarzan released the boulders as Jane quickly swung out of the way. The panthers roared in horror at this and attempted to escape, but to no avail as the boulders rained down on them and soon they were crushed to death by the rockslide, killing them both instantly.

Jane then swung over to her husband and for a moment, it seemed that everything was going to be okay. But, just as Tarzan and Jane were about to swing over to the other side, La jumped into the air and snatched Jane from Tarzan's grip, growling menacingly. Landing hard on her back, Jane looked up and stared at the growling face of Queen La, who was looking to finish her off once and for all.

"Now, you deal with me, Jane," she hissed as Jane scrambled to get out of the way. Tarzan tried to defend her, but La swung her claw at Tarzan, scratching him in the chest and leaving him hurt and weakened. This made Jane very cross as she grabbed Tarzan's spear and got herself ready for battle.

For the first time in her life, Jane was going to defend herself from Queen La and it would be a one on one battle to decide the outcome of whether Jane would become subjected to La's wrath.

"You have harmed us for the very last time, La," snarled Jane, clutching her husband's spear tightly as Tarzan struggled to get back on his feet. "It all ends here, you hear me?!"

"I beg to differ," snarled La and the Ex-Queen of Opar, stretched out her claws once again as the small crowd watched as Jane, wearing half of her yellow dress and Queen La prepared to battle each other.

But, only one would be left standing when all was said and done.


	19. Jane Porter vs Queen La

Chapter 19

"Jane Porter vs. Queen La"

Today was supposed to finally be the picnic that Jane had always wanted to have with her friends from England. Instead, she was staring death in the form of a leopard possessed by a former Wazari who became her own queen of an ancient temple. Clutching a spear in her gloved hands and clad in only the top of her yellow dress and a pair of white bloomers, Jane pointed the spear right at La and with one leap at her, the battle had begun with Jane's friends, her father, her husband and his best friends along with their animal friends witnessing it all. Fortunately, Jane managed to dodge every attempt that La made against her. The young Englishwoman then jumped up into the air as the leopard queen charged at her.

"Stand down, Jane," snarled La, growling fiercely. "You cannot win."

But, Jane stood her ground as La continued her attempts towards her. At one point, La had swiped her claw at Jane, tearing at the top of her dress, exposing the corset she was wearing underneath. Nevertheless, Jane forgot to maintain her dignity as she jumped up the ledge and struggling to climb, managed to make it into a tree with La chasing her down. La couldn't climb into the trees, but at least she could chase Jane down.

"What can we do?" asked Basuli worriedly as he clutched Tarzan, who was injured in the fight with La. Suddenly, the rock pile that had supposedly crushed Nuru and Sheeta began to move and the two panthers, although slightly woozy, were able to quickly rally and advance towards the two warriors.

"You will do nothing," snarled Sheeta, as his brother chuckled evilly. "Now we are going to finish you off once and for all, Tarzan."

"When all is said and done," added Nuru evilly. "You will be our queen's mate."

Suddenly, a loud cry was heard and the sounds of war chants and whooping noises were heard along with the roar of a leopard cub and its mother. Jumping down into the gorge, the mother leopard and the leopard cub stood in front of Tarzan and Basuli as the Wazari warriors lead by Keewazi came forward, spears clutching tightly.

"Kill them both!" shouted Keewazi as the mother leopard charged at the panthers, swiping her claws at them and biting them with her fangs. As the three cats fought violently, the Wazaris helped Tarzan and Basuli away as the panthers managed to kick the mother leopard away and charge towards them, for they knew that La needed Tarzan alive. Unfortunately, Simba had managed to rebound and join the fight against the panthers.

"We need to find Jane and La now!" ordered Tarzan and the group immediately began to find the Englishwoman and the ex-Wazari, who were now in a deep part of the jungle. Feeling that she was safe, Jane jumped down from the trees and armed her spear ready for any sign of trouble. She soon got it when La came out from behind the bushes and knocked the spear out of Jane's hands. Desperately trying to defend herself, Jane grabbed a large rock and put it in La's mouth, intending her to swallow it and have her choke to death. But, that didn't work as La's claws began to rip Jane's bloomers, exposing the pale skin of her legs underneath. With the sounds of ripping, Jane managed to kick La in the stomach with her boot and crawl away as fast as she could. She tried to reach for the spear, but the crafty Wazari stopped her by placing it in her mouth and broke it half with her fangs.

"Did you honestly think you could stop me that easily?" remarked La, smiling evilly. "I don't believe so and now, you shall die, Jane once and for all!"

"Honestly," panted Jane, trying to get back to her feet. "If I am going to die, I am going to die fighting you!"

And she leapt and tackled La onto her back and the two female warriors fought on the ground as Tarzan and the others joined them. Suddenly, they were joined by Nuru and Sheeta who were fighting Simba and the mother Leopard. Realizing that they were in real danger unless they did something, the Wazari warriors raised their spears at the panthers as they ran over to Queen La's aide.

"Fire!" shouted Basuli and the spears were thrown at the panthers, striking them in whatever part of their bodies that were touched. The two panthers roared and screeched in pain as they fell to the grounds as La screamed in anger upon seeing this in front of her.

"NO!" she screamed and a bloodied and bruised Jane managed at that moment to pick up La by her stomach and clutched her tightly as they got closer and closer to the entrance to the underworld known as Pellucidar. The weight of her enemy had begun to cause Jane to lose her balance as La struggled to get free.

"Look out, Jane!" cried Tarzan as he watched his wife struggle with La. "You're going to the entrance to Pellucidar!

Suddenly, Jane's foot touched the edge of the hole and she fell over with La, screaming that this was the end. But, she managed to grab onto a branch as Tarzan and Basuli ran over to help her. At the same time, Keewazi threw over La's staff to Basuli in an effort to pull Jane up safely. But, La was not willing to let go. It was a very long fall to the dinosaur underworld and she was not going to go, no matter how hard she tried.

"If I go," cried La, as Basuli and Tarzan lowered her staff down to Jane. "Then you are going with me, Jane!"

Jane could feel the tears of desperation forming in her eyes as she struggled to reach the staff, but then, she realized that La's powers were likely to return if the spear was not destroyed.

"Destroy the spear!" she cried out to Tarzan and Basuli. "Don't worry about me! Destroy the spear and you'll destroy La's powers!"

"No," cried Tarzan as Basuli began to lose his grip on the spear. "We must save you, Jane! We must!"

Just then, La began to lose her own grip on Jane as the claws continued to dig into Jane's bloomers. Finally, seizing a chance, Jane saw another branch and tried to reach it, much to La's horror. Suddenly, Jane pulled on the staff and smashed the top of the staff against the side of the hole, destroying the red orb inside, thus destroying the staff and La's power.

"Goodbye, La, forever!" cried Jane as she swung La around and it was at that moment, La's grip on Jane was gone and only clutching one of her boots, La fell screaming into Pellucidar below, never to be seen and never heard from again.

With La in Pellucidar, Basuli and Tarzan managed to pull Jane back up and the young Englishwoman, bruised and bloodied embraced her husband, sobbing that she was glad to be alive as everyone cheered and disposed of Nuru and Sheeta's bodies into Pellucidar as well.

It was over, Jane Porter had won.


	20. A Picnic Finished at Last

Chapter 20

"A Picnic Finished at Last"

In the days since La's defeat, Jane Porter and her friends finally managed to get the picnic that they so desired. Having repaired their dresses from the events of earlier, they were finally able to enjoy each other's company as well as spend time with the Wazari's and as their picnic came to an end, Jane and Tarzan walked them down to the beach in order to say their goodbyes to them one last time.

"I'm so glad we finally were able to have our picnic," said Jane to Eleanor as they arrived at the beach where Captain Gerard was waiting to take them back to the boat. "It was a long time coming, even if it wasn't like a garden party back in England."

"Indeed, it wasn't," she replied. "Perhaps maybe the next time we get together, we should do it in England, just like old times."

"We're going to miss you so much," sobbed Greenley, blowing into a pink handkerchief, much to Eleanor's annoyance.

"Oh come now," she remarked, folding her arms in disgust. "At least show some decorum, Greenley."

Jane smiled at all of this as she hugged Eleanor and the other two girls one last time. Tarzan, who was dressed in his late father's suit, clutched his tie nervously for he had never been taking part in something like this before. Nevertheless, he watched as Jane walked her friends to the rowboat and a little while, they were on their way back to the boat and back to England where they belonged. As the boat was out of sight, Tarzan and Jane began to walk back to the treehouse as the sun had set behind them.

"You know, Jane," said Tarzan as he took her gloved hand into his. "It was finally nice to get to know your friends a little better. But, do you think we could ever return to England?"

"Who knows?" sighed Jane, shrugging her shoulders. "It would be nice, especially after all that has happened."

Soon, they arrived at the treehouse just as night fell on them. As they arrived, a sound of rustling was heard and leaping into action, Tarzan prepared himself for whatever was behind it and instead it was the mother leopard and the leopard cub who walked casually over to them.

"Jane," said the mother leopard as she approached them. "I wanted to thank you personally for giving care to my baby when he was kidnapped. He wouldn't have been alive if it weren't for you."

The leopard cub then walked over and Jane bent down to pick it up and smiled at it as it smiled back at her. After a moment, she placed the cub back onto the ground and it went back over to the mother's side.

"I thought that I was only doing what I was right," replied Jane as she tried to keep her hair up. "He enjoyed his time here with us."

"Nevertheless," added Tarzan, who then dropped his guard in front of them. "You are welcome back here at any time along with your cub."

After a few moments, the leopard cub and its mother went back into the jungle as Jane blew a kiss at them as they left. She then heard another rush in the bushes, and it was revealed to be Nala, who smiled at Jane for a second before retreating into the bushes. It seemed with this brief exchange, Jane finally proved to Tarzan that she was able to defend herself.

"I am sure going to miss him," sighed Jane as they left. "What if he is different now that he's growing up, Tarzan?"

"He may grow up," replied Tarzan. "But he will always remember who you are. I guess it took me a while to realize that."

Soon, they then made their way back into the treehouse as Timon and Pumbaa awaited them along with Archimedes. By the time that they had returned, it was very late. However, Archimedes had something that he wanted to share with the jungle couple.

"Oh, Jane, Tarzan!" gasped Archimedes excitedly, holding what appeared to be a piece of paper. "I have the most wonderful news to share with you!"

"Wonderful news?!" gasped Jane excitedly. "What is it daddy?"

Archimedes then took out what appeared to be a large piece of paper and handed it to them. Jane read it for a second and a few moments later, she squealed with joy and hugged her father tightly much to the confusion of Tarzan, Timon and Pumbaa.

"What is going on here, Timon?" asked Pumbaa, nudging his friend in the shoulder. "Do humans always act this way?"

"Who knows, Pumbaa?" replied Timon. "Who knows?"

After a second for Jane to calm down, Archimedes finally told Tarzan what made both her and him so excited. What he said next was something of great excitement.

"Tarzan, my boy," he said. "The University of Columbia has invited me to accept an honorary degree in animal studies in New York City! We are going to America, my boy! Isn't that exciting?!"

Tarzan was puzzled for a moment and then he began to remember the time that Theodore Roosevelt had come to the jungle and remembered that he was the President of the United States. It was all becoming clear to him at that moment where he realized that he was indeed going America as well as going back to England.

The celebrations in the treehouse continued long into the night as they were not only celebrating this major accomplish, but also the accomplishment of Jane finally proving to Tarzan that she was capable of defending herself.

Meanwhile, back in England, a hooded figure was sitting in a tavern a few days later, reading what appeared to be an article of Archimedes and Tarzan on the front of the _London Times_ newspaper. The figure then crumpled up the paper and threw in a fireplace and as it burned, the figure began to whisper to itself.

"Oh, Tarzan," said the figure, who spoke in a female voice as a clap of thunder and a flash of lightning came through the tavern. "Soon, you shall pay for what you did to my brother."

TO BE CONTINUED: SPRING 2015


End file.
